First Show

[t&d farms]

My son had his first show this past weekend. He did pretty good considering. On sat he had his showmanship show. THere were two classes of 9 and under, 4 in each class, he was pretty nervouse and was hoping for 3rd or better. Unfortuanately all the practice at home he froze, and said he "Forgot what to do" luckly the ringmaster helped him out. he came in 4th, the judge brought all 4 of them back and 2 from the second. class. which he started to do much better. The steer was trying to get the best of him a couple times too but he held on and as my daughter says "tell him whose boss!" he did good.

The second day was Market Class, he came in second in his class. out of seven. he wasn't picked for reserve in the open class champ round. but we were pretty happy with the results anyways. said he has a good top, but lacking a little in the quarters. Had a little mess up on fitting but its been a while since we done it. But he showed the steer like your suppose to and did a good job of it. he had him stretched out a tad bit in profile stance but all in all a 65lb boy showing a 1105 lbs steer did a good job.
ALl in all, Caleb had a great time and wants to do it again.
ill try to post a picture of the steer now. most of them didnt turn out soo well.
just thought id share

 

[VCC]

Great job, tell him to keep up the great work, your right if he had set the calf up better he would have not looked so light in the rear. Is the steer a shorthorn? The best thing for him is just to continue to show, over and over. It gets easier as they develop confidence, and learn how to present the steer, so he looks his best.

TNMasterBS'r
I do not believe she asked for your thoughts on the steer, it was more about the child's accomplishments, Most the time when you are dealing with a first time steer project, you want to pick a gentle calf first and then look at confirmation. My sons first steer was a Commercial Angus that never left the feed bunk as we sorted through them, was he the best calf in the lot, no but he was dog gentle. Needles to say, my sons is on his 6th year of showing steers and still is enjoying it.

 

[show steer up]

:clap: :clap: Good Job Caleb :clap: :clap:
I'm glad you had a good time, keep up the good work :cboy:
Mom....I hope you got some good video on him showing. I video my kiddo's showing so they can see where they made their mistakes. It's a great learning tool, use it about every two to three weeks at home and let them decide how they can make the animal look better

 

[Chris H]

Does he have a county fair later this year that he's aiming for? Another 150 lbs on that steer will probably do a lot of good.

Our grandson is showing in 4H for the first time this year. He took a couple heifers to some jackpots and has a jr association show in June, our fair is the 1st of August. Our primary goal is to get him through each show safely and then learn a little more each time. He's slightly smaller than your son so I know it's a handful for these little kids to show a 1,000lb + animal.

I think your son looks pretty good working with the calf in the picture. He didn't let the calf's head drop too bad while working on getting his feet set up. Does he have any problem using such a long stick? We got a shorter stick for grandson. It's hard for him to reach the back legs, but he can't hold the longer stick at the end and reach the back legs anyway!

 

[farmwife]

Way to go Caleb!!!

After the first show, it becomes like riding a bike.

I can agree that the steer would not be my top pick, but it's not about that anyway. It's about getting a young man hooked on a great thing -- showing!! If you enjoy it, you'll continually improve. And, I know I'll start a big "hoorah" with this statement, but "it's not always about winning!" We show because it's a family thing. If we win, it's even better.

Mom -- tell Caleb he did great (everytime no matter what). Find a show camp to attend and get hooked up with someone that shows well and have them work with him. He'll only improve -- the pic proves that he knew he didn't have the steer set right. The kids I worry about are those that look like statues staring at the judge without an ounce of consideration for how the animal is set.

Again kudos!!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[show steer up]

chris, your grandson is going to have to get use to a long show stick. He has to be able to reach the back leggs with no problem. Have him walk around the house with it in walking show position, about an hour a day. I did this with my kids then had them lead there steers with show stick in hand. It needs to be like second nature to them.
About two months before our fair my kids need to have a show stick in their hand at all times while working their animals. when they wash their animals and the steer moves out of show stance, they set them back up. This traines the steer and the child at the same time. We have two sets of show sticks. One for fair and one for every day use. In the beginning my kids were not to happy, now that they have been showing for a few years, you almost never see them without them Give it a try and see if it helps.

 

[t&d farms]

yes, he still has two shows to go, our county round up in aug and our fair in sept. we are aiming for 1325-1350 for those shows. hes not the best steer, we know that. (its not the best picture either) we had two steers for him to pick from he wanted the red one, so we let him have the red one, the black one (which we wanted him to show) was sold and more then likely will be a contenter. But, We didnt want to force a animal on to him so we let him have the red one. its Not always about winning. (even though it is nice)

we have a smaller show stick for him but he cant reach the back legs.

he had fun, and wants to do it again.
thats all that matters right now.

 

[show steer up]

I agree with you,
the kid needs to show the animal he wants. My son's first steer was a real ugly one, we let him pick it, show it and when he took last place he decided that mom needed to help him next year.
We went to an auction the next year, I had both my kids walk around with the sale line up. It was their job to pick out the animal they thought was the best and the one they would like to buy. After they were done I showed them my picks. We went back over the animals and decided as a group to buy four of them, two for each kid. One that I wanted them to buy and one they wanted. Well moms picks both took their classes and the other two didn't make auction.
The third year when I asked the kids to go pick their animals we all picked the same four animals. Now my problem was who would get what steer. Thank goodness, they both had diffrent top picks. This seems to work for us, we start as a team and end as a team. when one wins, we all win, and both kids work on each others animals. One will clean the pen while the other feeds and switch off the next day. One will wash and the other will blow dry, and switch off the next day. This keeps the kids from getting tired of the same old thing day in and day out, works for us


By the way, long show stick not short

 

[Anonymous]

That steer sure does look lacking in the rear end. He looks post legged to.

Stand him up right and those legs would be quite alright I think. Anyway, it's a steer. You can't expect perfection. They get cut for a reason

 

[Keren]

chris, your grandson is going to have to get use to a long show stick. He has to be able to reach the back leggs with no problem. Have him walk around the house with it in walking show position, about an hour a day. I did this with my kids then had them lead there steers with show stick in hand. It needs to be like second nature to them.
About two months before our fair my kids need to have a show stick in their hand at all times while working their animals. when they wash their animals and the steer moves out of show stance, they set them back up. This traines the steer and the child at the same time. We have two sets of show sticks. One for fair and one for every day use. In the beginning my kids were not to happy, now that they have been showing for a few years, you almost never see them without them Give it a try and see if it helps.

Doesnt happen very often, but I'm going to disagree with you here ;-)

If he cant handle a long cane, dont worry about it.

Teach him to set the back feet by 'rocking' the animal - using pressure on the halter and shifting his body weight back or forward. He can use his cane for the front feet and to scratch the animal.

I am only 1.5 metres and I cut the end of my show canes to make them my size. When I am showing large animals (bulls, cows, older heifers) I cant reach the back legs, so I rock them (most of the young animals I rock as well) then use the cane or my feet to set the front feet.

Tell your son congratulations! Having fun is the priority at this stage!

 

[Keren]

Great job, tell him to keep up the great work, your right if he had set the calf up better he would have not looked so light in the rear. Is the steer a shorthorn? The best thing for him is just to continue to show, over and over. It gets easier as they develop confidence, and learn how to present the steer, so he looks his best.

TNMasterBS'r
I do not believe she asked for your thoughts on the steer, it was more about the child's accomplishments, Most the time when you are dealing with a first time steer project, you want to pick a gentle calf first and then look at confirmation. My sons first steer was a Commercial Angus that never left the feed bunk as we sorted through them, was he the best calf in the lot, no but he was dog gentle. Needles to say, my sons is on his 6th year of showing steers and still is enjoying it.

Im surprised that steer did as well as he did with his conformation is what I am getting at. Judges dont want to see post legs and dont want to see lacking hindquarters. I have shown enough cattle at enough big name shows to know what the judges want. No offense to the kid or anyone else for that matter. If he wants to win he needs a better steer is what I was getting at. In regards to showing you have to ask yourself. Do you want to win that purple or do you want to just be mediocre? This steer would fall in the mediocre range at most shows around.

If judges do not want to see post legs on their show steers, why is the US trend to fit legs so that they appear posty? :???:

 

[Anonymous]

Great job, tell him to keep up the great work, your right if he had set the calf up better he would have not looked so light in the rear. Is the steer a shorthorn? The best thing for him is just to continue to show, over and over. It gets easier as they develop confidence, and learn how to present the steer, so he looks his best.

TNMasterBS'r
I do not believe she asked for your thoughts on the steer, it was more about the child's accomplishments, Most the time when you are dealing with a first time steer project, you want to pick a gentle calf first and then look at confirmation. My sons first steer was a Commercial Angus that never left the feed bunk as we sorted through them, was he the best calf in the lot, no but he was dog gentle. Needles to say, my sons is on his 6th year of showing steers and still is enjoying it.

Im surprised that steer did as well as he did with his conformation is what I am getting at. Judges dont want to see post legs and dont want to see lacking hindquarters. I have shown enough cattle at enough big name shows to know what the judges want. No offense to the kid or anyone else for that matter. If he wants to win he needs a better steer is what I was getting at. In regards to showing you have to ask yourself. Do you want to win that purple or do you want to just be mediocre? This steer would fall in the mediocre range at most shows around.

If judges do not want to see post legs on their show steers, why is the US trend to fit legs so that they appear posty? :???:

:lol:
:clap: :clap: :clap: Thankyou Keren!!

 

[Chris H]

yes, he still has two shows to go, our county round up in aug and our fair in sept. we are aiming for 1325-1350 for those shows. hes not the best steer, we know that. (its not the best picture either) we had two steers for him to pick from he wanted the red one, so we let him have the red one, the black one (which we wanted him to show) was sold and more then likely will be a contenter. But, We didnt want to force a animal on to him so we let him have the red one. its Not always about winning. (even though it is nice)

we have a smaller show stick for him but he cant reach the back legs.

he had fun, and wants to do it again.
thats all that matters right now.

The steer will be much better looking by your fair, so will the others, but taking 2nd out of 7 is not too bad. You're right, the fact that he wants to do it again is all that matters.

And I'll take the advice that someone said and start having our grandson carry a full size stick with him all the time. We'll save the shorter stick for the young calves.

 

[farmwife]

Speaking on show stick issue. At most show camps that I have attended, the exhibitors are instructed, as a rule of thumb, to not have a stick that is taller than they are. However, if a young person needs a longer stick, I think it's okay as long as they don't get clumsy with it (I've seen it happen). I would suggest that they move their hand down to where the rubber starts and then rest the end of the stick near their elbow for a little more leverage.

 

[show steer up]

chris, your grandson is going to have to get use to a long show stick. He has to be able to reach the back leggs with no problem. Have him walk around the house with it in walking show position, about an hour a day. I did this with my kids then had them lead there steers with show stick in hand. It needs to be like second nature to them.
About two months before our fair my kids need to have a show stick in their hand at all times while working their animals. when they wash their animals and the steer moves out of show stance, they set them back up. This traines the steer and the child at the same time. We have two sets of show sticks. One for fair and one for every day use. In the beginning my kids were not to happy, now that they have been showing for a few years, you almost never see them without them Give it a try and see if it helps.

Doesnt happen very often, but I'm going to disagree with you here ;-)

If he cant handle a long cane, dont worry about it.

Teach him to set the back feet by 'rocking' the animal - using pressure on the halter and shifting his body weight back or forward. He can use his cane for the front feet and to scratch the animal.

I am only 1.5 metres and I cut the end of my show canes to make them my size. When I am showing large animals (bulls, cows, older heifers) I cant reach the back legs, so I rock them (most of the young animals I rock as well) then use the cane or my feet to set the front feet.

Tell your son congratulations! Having fun is the priority at this stage!

I can see what your talking about Karen, but what do you do for the profile view :???: You have to set off side forward.
I'm gunna have my daughter try the rocking tonight. That would be great if she could teach them how to do that :shock: Thanks so much

 

[Chris H]

Speaking on show stick issue. At most show camps that I have attended, the exhibitors are instructed, as a rule of thumb, to not have a stick that is taller than they are. However, if a young person needs a longer stick, I think it's okay as long as they don't get clumsy with it (I've seen it happen). I would suggest that they move their hand down to where the rubber starts and then rest the end of the stick near their elbow for a little more leverage.

That's what I always thought, that's why we bought a shorter stick for GS. Apparently everyone here thinks that's wrong. GS also has the disadvantage of being left-handed.

Edit: Apparently NOT everyone thinks it's wrong for little kids to use a shorter stick.

 

[show steer up]

A few years back the judge actuly reprimanded the parents for sending their children in the ring with short show sticks. He stated.............you spend all this time and money on these animals, lurn how to properly equip your children. If they can't set the animal up in a good show stance, because they can't reach their back leggs; then why give them the show stick at all, in fact don't send them in at all.
Boy where some parents peeved, I must admit he was a rude judge and was glad we didn't have him the next year.
He told a first time showman that if he came into the ring next year with his animal shaven he would kick him out of the ring. The kid made a mistake while trying to fit his animal. He tried to fix it and by show day he had completly shaved the steer :shock: . At least he tried to clip on his own animal

 

[farmwife]

A few years back the judge actuly reprimanded the parents for sending their children in the ring with short show sticks. He stated.............you spend all this time and money on these animals, lurn how to properly equip your children. If they can't set the animal up in a good show stance, because they can't reach their back leggs; then why give them the show stick at all, in fact don't send them in at all.
Boy where some parents peeved, I must admit he was a rude judge and was glad we didn't have him the next year.
He told a first time showman that if he came into the ring next year with his animal shaven he would kick him out of the ring. The kid made a mistake while trying to fit his animal. He tried to fix it and by show day he had completly shaved the steer :shock: . At least he tried to clip on his own animal

I agree on the clipping thing.

You oughta post the judge's name, so we can all be forewarned and forearmed!!

 

[L Weir]

yes, he still has two shows to go, our county round up in aug and our fair in sept. we are aiming for 1325-1350 for those shows. hes not the best steer, we know that. (its not the best picture either) we had two steers for him to pick from he wanted the red one, so we let him have the red one, the black one (which we wanted him to show) was sold and more then likely will be a contenter. But, We didnt want to force a animal on to him so we let him have the red one. its Not always about winning. (even though it is nice)

we have a smaller show stick for him but he cant reach the back legs.

he had fun, and wants to do it again.
thats all that matters right now.

Congratulations to your son! I'm glad to see you have that kind of attitude as far as winning. My daughter is on her third year in 4-H and we let her pick her own steer out of twins. It isn't the best of the two, but we couldn't go back on our word. She had two good years of winning shows. She trained him by herself this year and did alot of the work herself this year without me asking her too.

 

[show steer up]

A few years back the judge actuly reprimanded the parents for sending their children in the ring with short show sticks. He stated.............you spend all this time and money on these animals, lurn how to properly equip your children. If they can't set the animal up in a good show stance, because they can't reach their back leggs; then why give them the show stick at all, in fact don't send them in at all.
Boy where some parents peeved, I must admit he was a rude judge and was glad we didn't have him the next year.
He told a first time showman that if he came into the ring next year with his animal shaven he would kick him out of the ring. The kid made a mistake while trying to fit his animal. He tried to fix it and by show day he had completly shaved the steer :shock: . At least he tried to clip on his own animal

I agree on the clipping thing.

You oughta post the judge's name, so we can all be forewarned and forearmed!!

no problem, I will call the county 4-h office today and get his name.